Okay, so it's been a while.

But we've been busy, I swear. So much has been going on and as usual, the days are blending into each other. Work 9-5 on the railroad, drive home, have dinner, get picked up by James, drive, see friends, come home, sleep, wake up, go to work...

Literally. Every day.

But I don't mind it, though. It means I'm having fun, right? I feel like I'm fitting lots into my summer schedule. We did Six Flags, I went to Maine, attended a wedding, celebrated Dylan's, helped plan my sister's wedding, and celebrated Vanessa's birthday in Boston. The latter was just this past weekend I had so much fun seeing everyone. The restaurant we went to had some deal where you pick x amount of appetizers, salads, and pastas and they keep bringing plates of them to you, nonstop. I could go for some of what we had there right now. I wasn't sure how creepy it would have been to store tons of leftovers in her fridge overnight then hope it survives the ride home in the AC. Speaking of- I drove all the way through Boston! Granted it wasn't downtown, but the (scary) highway, whatever it is. But I was able to get through like nothin'.

Now is the part in my schedule where I pass out. I leave you with this picture that I really like. Wouldn't it be so cool if this were able to be painted almost photorealistically? I wish I could.

Vinny graduated!

Awwh my little baby Vinny is all grown up! Vinny and I have been friends for, I don't know, four years now? A long time. He got me the job at the cafe and we work practically every night together. I couldn't be happier for him!

Last night after work I went to his house for his party. We were late and everyone had already left, but it wasn't a problem. I've learned that my friends bring the party. We hung out with Vinny for awhile, eating delicious food and playing hackey sack. We also managed to play... oh God, I can't remember what Katie calls it, but I'm going to call it the circle game. We played the circle game, where everyone walks in opposite directions and you try not to run into each other. We got four people involved; our most successful yet.

Katie, as usual, gave Ted his insulin, and I had to laugh. She's going to be such a cool nurse. I can totally imagine her dancing around with needles in her hand. And then there's Ted and Samantha in the background like "Katie, that's not safe..."





After the party, Ted and I went back to my house to watch a movie, but during a commercial break we saw an ad for mint chocolate chip Klondike bars.

I wish I had caught our reaction on video.

My mouth drops open and I point to the screen. Ted goes "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?!" and I asked him what time it was.

I don't really remember there being a discussion about what was to happen next, I just know that I was instantly finding shoes and we literally ran to his car. We saw the ad at 10:20pm... do you know what time all the grocery stores close on a Sunday here? 10:00pm. We hit six stores before we gave up at 7/11 on Main Street and settled for ice cream and Poptarts. I'm still mildly upset we didn't get them and will probably end up going to the store today...

It is nearly 90 degrees today. If it gets any hotter, it'll be considered a FEVER.

But! I will not complain. I think both Stephanie and I will take sweating over shivering any day.

All the days are blurring together and I love it. They've been hot, filled with friends, smores, and bonfires.

:)

We've checked two things off the summer to-do list!

As you may or may not remember, Ted and I started a Summer To-Do list with Katie and James. Basically, everything on it is something at least one of us has not done. For example, I've never been to a batting cage, James has never set foot in a Wal-Mart, and Ted has never been on the dinner train.

We also have a sub-list of stuff we've all done but would like to do again, like Six Flags and camping.

Well, we've begun!

Last Friday, Ted and I went to his first ever drive-in movie. We saw the new Pirates movie and turned my car into a couch/tabletop. We played hackey sack waiting for the movie to start and ate junk food and pizza. I'm pretty much a picnic master, though Ted is competition (see below). Basically, it was heaven in movie form.




And then yesterday, we checked off something on our sub-list- Six Flags!

I was off-Cape anyway, so I got dropped off and met up with Ted and his little brother around 10:30 at the gates. First, we processed our season passes (this is my first season pass for anything, and I couldn't be more thrilled). As we left the building, Ted asked what was first.

"That," I said and pointed at the large tower in the center of the park. Scream. We waiting in line for about 20 minutes, all while Ted's brother was sassy. I loved it, it was only my second time meeting this kid and he was just as sassy as Ted is. After Scream we went on the new roller coaster, the Gauntlet, which I never heard the end of how lame it was. WHATEVER, GUYS.

Soon, Katie and James got there! We met them at the car and got them in on our coupons. Then we bought a flash pass and got right on Batman. Then Ted, James and I rode Bizzaro (Superman) and it was James's first time on it. So amazing.

Ted and his brother played a ring toss game and Ted got a little green guy that James named Sebastian. Ted gave him to me and I made sure he made an appearance in every picture for the rest of the day.

Ted left for a little while to bring his little brother home, so Katie, James and I went on Blizzard River (we played the who can get the wettest game... I won), Cyclone (deathtrap), Batman again and Pandemonium. Katie also made me go on Mind Eraser, which always gives me a headache, and Houdini, which I just can't f'n figure out.

When Ted got back we ate sandwiches that Ted brought (he pretty much packed a whole deli in a little cooler, which is why Ted is also a picnic master).

Katie, Ted and I went on Thunderbolt and Batman, then we all went on Blizzard River. We played two more games, the water gun ones, where Ted won a giant three-foot tall pink squid who he named Lunchbox and then gave to me. I tried to rename him Eddy, after Eddy's Fish Mart, but Lunchbox was what stuck. Anyway, Katie won a giraffe she named Leroy, but he wasn't as soft as Lunchbox.

Before Katie and James left, Ted and I went on Bizzaro again. Then we said our goodbyes to Katie and James, went on Twister and Scream and then went to leave. Upon leaving, I realized that the ONE thing we didn't do that all my friends promised they would do with me was ride the carousel. So before leaving, Ted did that with me.






We made the drive home and went to a bonfire at Jeff's with everyone. Basically, I've been having the best summer of my life so far. I couldn't be happier!

I just have to record my day somewhere.

Today was amazing and bittersweet in all the right ways. To quote a lyric from a song I played more than once, "hands down, today is the best day I can ever remember".

I woke up early and got ready, then Ted picked me up. We hit the road, stopping for coffee (at Mary Lou's, at my insistence, because goddammit I wanted an Oreo Cookie Monster, lactose intolerance be damned). We ended up having to postpone the visit with Ryan for a few hours, so we stopped at the Holyoke Mall and shopped for a couple hours.

One, I'm psyched that Ted likes shopping as much as I do. Two, that mall is amazing at noon on a Tuesday. It wasn't crowded at all, the stores were neat, Forever 21 is huge, they have an H&M... ugh amazing.

I got two skirts, three shirts and a tank top at Forever 21 (for 25$!), a bag at H&M (6$), a shirt at PacSun ($7), and some things at Sephora which I only had to pay 13$ for because I had a leftover gift card. Ted got some new shirts, a new pair of shoes and something else I can't really remember at this point in time, though I swear he bought things from three different stores.

After the mall we went to Ryan's, where Tyler met us outside and told us what to expect. Then Ryan came outside and gave me a hug and oh my God. He's alive. He's amazing. I don't want to go into to much detail here because I feel like that would take away from my experience with him, and make me cry (I held out! I didn't cry until I got back into the car!) but... I'm just so thankful he's alive.

Then we left and headed towards Southampton, and stopped in and visited real quick with my grandmother and step-grandfather. Then we went to my aunt and uncle's, where Ted was pretty much bombarded with talking about the demolition derby and Liv showed us her American Girl Dolls (which Ted had never heard of... clearly, not okay by Liv and I). We ate dinner with them and, when we left, Ted told me that he could totally tell that they were my family. Liv especially, he said, is just like me.

After a full day of visiting my family, we thought it only proper to stop in and surprise Ted's family on the way back to the Cape. His family is awesome, I met his mom, his brother, and his mom's boyfriend. I forget what it is I said, but his mom was like "I love you already" and just made me feel really welcome. We had a second dinner with them and she made me pizza when Ted made some comment about how I don't eat leftovers. We told them all about our summer to-do list and his brother showed us how he's learning the drums and they all reacted the same way Ted did when he mentioned I had never seen any of the Back To The Futures. Oops?

It was a really long, emotional drive home. I think I cried the whole way, thinking about Ryan. It was so good to see him, but I'm still in serious shock over the whole thing.

Things will never be the same, that's just the way it is.